Last Lawsuit From A&M Bonfire Collapse Settled

The sole remaining lawsuit arising out of the deadly Texas A&M Bonfire collapse in 1999 has been settled. This comes almost 15 years after the incident that resulted in a number of deaths. The collapse of the 60-foot stack of more than 6,000 logs early on the morning of Nov. 18, 1999, killed 12 people and injured 27 others. The collapse ended the almost-century-old tradition at Texas A&M.

The remaining defendants, Zachry Construction Corp. and Scott-Macon Equipment finally agreed to settle the case. The two companies provided cranes and crane operators for the student-built woodpile. The settlement with Zachry is confidential at Zachry’s request, but it was reported by local newspapers that Scott-Macon paid $171,147. Texas A&M and the construction supervisors previously settled on a protanto basis for about $8 million. This is a prime example of what can happen when a University, or any educational institution, lets things get out of hand and fails to exercise the necessary level of control over campus activities. Obviously, when things get out of control the results can be very bad.